Birthday Blues
by Mychand
Summary: Caitlin's 30th birthday doesn't quite go as planned when Dom's friend draws the group into unexpected danger.
1. Chapter 1

**Birthday Blues**

Caitlin sighed as she put her purse in one of the little lockers at the hangar. It was the Friday, the before her birthday and she hadn't really made any plans to celebrate.

"The big three-o," she said to herself. "Kind of depressing to be thirty and still single with no prospects. Ugh, why do I suddenly sound like my mother?"

"Caitlin, is everything alright back there?" Dom called out to her. "This engine out here isn't going to fix itself you know."

"I'm coming," she yelled as she came out into the hangar and joined him. "Where's Hawke?"

"He took the day off," Dom growled. "Not that I'm thrilled about it but apparently he had some kind of hot date."

"Oh," she replied softly.

"But hey," he continued, taking note of the sad look on her face. "My buddy Sal and I are heading out to the Blue Moon tonight for drinks if you'd like to come along. He had a fall out with his old lady and I figured he needed a night out."

Caitlin perked up. "Thanks Dom," she replied. "I think I'll take you up on that."

Don smiled. "We'll be up there around eight," he told her. Do you need a ride or would you rather meet us there?"

"I'll meet you there," she replied. "I want to do a little shopping after work."

"Sure thing kid," he replied. "Now, let's get back to work."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Caitlin sat at her bathroom vanity and put on her make-up. She sighed as she looked in the mirror at herself. "I've become too boring and predictable," she said to herself. "I need to get out there tonight and have fun….let loose for once. You only turn thirty once."

When she was done, she slipped on the new short mini skirt she had bought on her earlier shopping spree along with a low neck blouse that she use to wear when she was in college.  
"If I want to get noticed," she said out loud to herself. "This is the outfit to do it."

Caitlin hadn't mentioned her upcoming birthday to Dom and or Hawke and she realized at the beginning of the week that neither of them had remembered it. At first it bothered her but then she decided that she really didn't want them giving her any kind of special attention because of it.

She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror again. She liked that her hair had grown long and flowed to the top of her shoulders. She felt sexy. She felt like a woman. Caitlin loved being one of the guys at work but she couldn't help wanting to feel feminine sometimes.

"It's going to be a fun night," she thought to herself as she grabbed her purse and car keys headed out of the door.

When Caitlin got to the bar, she found Dom and Sal sitting at one of the small round tables in the very back of the establishment. To one side of them was a dance floor and along the front were two long bars.

"Mama Mia, you sure pretty tonight," Dom said to her with a smile. "What's the occasion?"

Caitlin smiled back at him. "I just felt like dressing up a bit tonight is all," she replied. "I just saw the sign up front that it's karaoke night tonight. I might just get up there and sing."

Dom chuckled. "Sounds good," he replied. "Here, have a seat and join us."

"Let me go and get a drink first," she told him as she headed over to the bar.

Dom and Sal watched her as she made her way through the crowd to the bar. "I think your friend is looking to meet someone tonight," Sal told Dom. "Beautiful woman like that…..I can't say I blame her. She shouldn't be alone."

Dom sighed. "She's a really good girl Sal," he replied. "She deserves to find a nice guy."

As the music cranked up and one by one the patrons started participating in karaoke, Caitlin found herself drinking one drink after another. She sat and chatted with Dom and Sal for awhile before men started asking her to dance.

After an hour of drinking and dancing, she finally sat back down with them to take a break.

"Wow, you've really had your share of attention tonight," Dom said with a wink.

Caitlin smiled. "I'm having a lot of fun…"

"Oh look who's joining us," Dom interrupted her and pointed to the doorway.

Caitlin turned to see Hawke coming towards them with a tall, bleach blonde woman holding onto his arm.

"Hey String," Dom called out. "Glad you were able to make it. I didn't think you were coming."

Hawke sighed. "Well, our concert plans fell through," he replied. "It was canceled so Amy and I figured we'd hang out here for awhile."

Caitlin stood up and greeted the woman as Hawke introduced them.

"It was nice meeting you," Caitlin told her before turning to Dom. "I'm going to go and get another drink."

Caitlin went back over to the bar and bought herself a shot of alcohol and a mixed drink. She downed the shot first and then took a sip of her drink before heading back to the dance floor with one of the men she'd danced with earlier.

Hawke watched her as she danced with several different men and then joined one of them for karaoke.

"Looks like Caitlin is having a good time," said Hawke. "I don't think I've ever seen her like this before."

Dom sighed slightly "Well, I'm keeping an eye on her," he replied. "I've never seen her drink so much so I just want to make sure she's okay."

"She's a big girl," Hawke told him. "But, I don't think it'd hurt to keep an eye on her."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Caitlin couldn't bring herself to go back over to the table with Hawke and his date. Instead she continued dancing with two men who seemed to take turns buying her drinks. When midnight came, she noticed the big clock that hung over the exit door. "Thirty," she thought to herself. "I'm officially thirty years old."

As the music slowed down, Caitlin chose one of the two men to dance with. As they danced, she noticed Hawke and his date get up and go towards the front door of the bar. It appeared to her that they were having a disagreement. She could tell he didn't look pleased when his date turned and left without him. She then watched as he walked back to the table and sat down with Dom and Sal.

"I think I'd better go and join my friends now," Caitlin finally said to one of the men as she started to feel as though the room were spinning.

As she pulled away the man grabbed her arm tightly. "You're not going anywhere," he told her. "My buddy and I didn't spend that much money on you for nothing. "You're coming home with us tonight."

"No, I'm not," Caitlin replied sternly. "Let me go."

The guy's buddy joined them and grabbed her by the other arm. "Let go of me right now," Caitlin yelled as they started pulling he towards the door.

"You heard the lady," Hawke said as he, Dom, and Sal came up behind them. "Let her go."

"This is none of your business," the second man quipped before taking a swing at Hawke.

"Like hell it isn't," he yelled back as he knocked the man to the floor with one punch.

Caitlin stood back as a brawl quickly broke out in the bar between Dom, Sal, Hawke and the two men. When it was over, she was relieved that her friends were the victors.

"Send me the bill Tom," Sal yelled out to the bar owner as they headed out.

Hawke grabbed Caitlin by the arm and pulled her outside with them. He held tight to when she began to sway on her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked her as the fresh night air hit her face.

"Uh, yeah…I think so," she replied slurring her words slightly.

Dom and Sal were laughing as they headed towards the parking lot. "Just like old times huh Dom," Sal asked. "I actually felt like a kid again."

Dom smiled. "Oh, just wait until tomorrow morning," he replied. "You'll feel just how old you really are."

"Hey, how about you all come back to my place for awhile," he asked. "I'll make us some of my famous coffee and we can continue this conversation."

"What about Carol?" asked Dom. "You think it's a good idea to bring home a bunch of people right now?"

Sal sighed. "Well, the truth is Dom," he replied. "She moved out last week. It's been hard being there alone, especially at night. You all would be doing me a favor if you came by for awhile."

Dom turned to String and Caitlin. "You two up for it?" he asked.

Hawke continued to hold Caitlin steady. "Yeah, I think a good cup of coffee might do her some good right about now."

"You got a car?" Sal asked Hawke.

"No, I rode here with Amy," he replied. "I'll drive Caitlin's car and we'll follow you."

"Great," replied Sal. "I just live about three blocks from here."

Hawke opened the passenger side door for Caitlin and helped her inside before walking around and getting behind the wheel.

"Caitlin," Hawke began to lecture as he dug into her purse and found the car keys. "I don't get why you drove here if you knew you were going to drink like that. You should have ridden with Dom."

Caitlin closed her eyes and put her hands on her ears in protest. "Just quit treating me like a kid Hawke," she replied. "I'm no longer a kid."

Hawke shook his head and sighed as he started up the car and followed Sal down the road. "This just isn't like you Caitlin," he replied.

"How do you know," she yelled back at him. "Aren't I allowed a little fun sometimes?"

Moment later, Hawke pulled into the long dirt driveway behind Dom and Sal. He yelled out to them as they climbed out of Dom's jeep. "We'll be inside in a minute," he told them. "Go on in without us."

Sal waved that he understood and the two men went inside the large two-story home and headed for the kitchen.

"Why aren't we going in yet?" Caitlin asked as Hawke opened the car door for her and helped her out.

"I want to know what's going on with you?" he asked her.

Caitlin felt numb. She couldn't recall when she had ever drunk so much before, not even in college.

"I AM allowed to have fun," she replied angrily. "What's your problem with it?"

"Caitlin, if we hadn't been there who knows what those two guys would've done to you," he replied continuing his lecture.

"Give me a break Hawke," I wouldn't have drank so much if I was alone," she admitted. "I'm not like all the women you date. I don't go out drinking just to go home with any old guy."

Her comment angered Hawke. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"I mean, you date some floozies," she said matter of fact like.

Suddenly, Caitlin felt the world around her spinning faster than before. She quickly bent over and threw up a large part of the contents in her stomach.

Hawke grabbed her by the arm. "Let's get inside," he demanded.

As they opened the door, String called out to Dom. "Hey, where are you guys?" he asked.

"Oh, we're in here," Dom replied in an odd tone.

"What's going on…." String was caught by surprise by two men who quickly shoved a rifle into the stomach.

"You two come on in and join your friends," they said sternly.

Hawke immediately recognized them as the men from the bar. "This is a little extreme for being jilted at a bar isn't it fellas?" asked Hawke.

One of the men laughed. "One thing has nothing to do with the other," he replied. "We're here curtsey of your friend Sal's wife. "It looks like your lady friend is just a bonus."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The men escorted Caitlin and Hawke into the kitchen were Dom and Sal were already sitting at the table with their hands tied behind their backs. One of the men ordered Hawke to sit down with them while the other held onto Caitlin's arm.

"What do you want with me?" asked Sal. "Why would my wife have you here?"

"Come on now Sal," one of the men replied with a grin. "I knew you didn't recognize us. We're Carol's cousin's kids. You know we don't play around when someone hurts one of our own. She's decided that maybe you need to suffer a little."

"You're Steve and Sam? Then you deal with me," demanded Sal. "Let my friends go. They have nothing to do with this."

Steve laughed. "We would have if they hadn't stuck their noses into our business. We just wanted to have a little fun before we joined you here tonight but they ruined it."

"Now we'll just have a little party here with all of you," replied Sam, keeping a tight grip on Caitlin's arm.

Caitlin was trying desperately to focus on the situation. She'd never felt so intoxicated in her life and she regretted it. "No!" she yelled. "Let me go."

Sam started to pull her into the other room when Hawke jumped up and lunged at him, knocking him and Caitlin to the floor.

Before he could proceed further, Steve pulled out handgun, shooting Hawke in the side.

"Hawke!" screamed Caitlin as she watched him fall to the floor.

"Now look what you've gone and made us do," yelled Sam. "We didn't want to kill anyone. We just wanted you to feel pain."

"It's not too late," Dom told him, trying hard to keep his cool.

Caitlin crawled to where Hawke was lying on the floor. Steve handed her a kitchen towel. "Here, you're going to take care of him until we're done with Sal," he ordered her. "Steve, let's lock them in the wine cellar."

"Sal, do you have a first aid kit?" asked Sam.

"Uh…yeah," he replied nervously. "It's under the sink in the bathroom down the hall."

Sam grabbed Caitlin by the arm and pulled her up and down the hall with him before meeting up with Steve who had carried Hawke down to the cellar on his shoulder.

Once down there, Hawke was placed on the floor and they gave Caitlin the first aid kit.

"Keep him alive until we're done with Sal," Steve said. "And you'll get to walk out of here unharmed."

Caitlin stared up at them and watched as they ascended the stairs and locked the door behind them. She immediately felt for Hawke's pulse before noticing he was lying there looking up at her.

"Hawke?" she nearly yelled. "Are you okay?"

Hawke sat up and looked around. "It's just a flesh wound," he assured her. "Steve is a pretty poor shot. Or maybe I should say a good shot in this case."

"Damn you Hawke," she replied. "I thought they'd nearly killed you."

"I'm hoping they think the same," he replied.

Caitlin tried to open the first aid kit but her hands were shaking badly and she was feeling light headed. "I'm not feeling so good," she admitted.

Hawke took the first aid kit from her and lifted up his shirt. "See, it's just a scratch," he assured her.

"At least put something on it so it doesn't get infected," she suggested as she laid her head back against one of the shelves and closed her eyes. "Oh, that's no better. I feel like I'm on a merry go round."

Hawke took her advice on taking care of the scratch. Afterwards he handed her gauze and tape to place on the wound. "Might be a good idea for when they come back down," he told her. "If they think I'm still incapacitated, we'll have a better chance to get a jump on them."

Hawke held the gauze in place while Caitlin attempted to tape it down as waves of dizziness continued to plague her.

"You might be dehydrated," Hawke told her, looking around the room. "But we really don't want you drinking any of this stuff."

"I just want to go home," she whined. "I want to crawl into my own bed and forget this day ever happened."

"We've been in worse scrapes than this," Hawke told her. "It'll be okay. They are a pair of idiots but as you heard, I don't think they really want murder on their hands."

Caitlin pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. "Two more men who used me," she said sadly. "When will I ever learn?"

Hawke sighed. "I don't get what's up with you tonight," he admitted. "I've never seen you drink so much and I surely never realized you could be such a mean drunk."

"Mean?" she asked.

"I thought what you said about Amy was uncalled for," he told her. "She's not like that."

"Oh," she replied, her face still on her knees. "I'm sorry but I just didn't like her."

Hawke shook his head. "She didn't like you much either," he told her. "She dumped me because she said I was too protective of you."

Caitlin lifted her head and stared at Hawke. "Since when?" she asked sarcastically.

Hawke ignored her. Instead he moved over to the small refrigerator he noticed on the wall opposite them, opening it to find it contained several bottles of seltzer water. He pulled one out and then found an aspirin pack in the first aid kit. "Here," he said, handing the items to Caitlin. "You're going to have one hell of a headache in the morning. Hopefully this will help some."


	4. Chapter 4

_This story wasn't meant to be long...probably a couple more chapters. I started writing it in response to the "challenge" story about Hawke not thinking Caitlin is a kid anymore. Hopefully I'll get those lines in there somewhere. :o) As for the date I used...it's Jean Bruce Scott's birthday. I figured she was approaching 30 near the end of her Airwolf run too. Also, to those who love Michael with Cait instead, I just can't. Maybe if the actors who played them weren't 23 years apart in age, I could see it. But, the romantic in me loves her with Hawke who was in between their ages. But, to each his/her own. Everyone likes different things._

 **Chapter 4**

An hour went by and Hawke was worried about Dom and Sal. He couldn't hear anything going on in the main part of the house. Caitlin hadn't moved in awhile and he'd wondered if she'd passed out.

"Caitlin?" Hawke called out to her. "How are you doing?"

"Awful," she replied softly, her head still resting on her knees. "I want off of this ride. I want off now."

"Yeah, I'd kind of like to get out of here too," he replied. "I hope Dom and Sal are okay."

"Oh God," she replied while still not moving. "If they hurt Dom it's my fault isn't it?"

Hawke shrugged. "Well, Dom would have come back here with Sal regardless. Our being here is….well, your fault."

"Great, thanks, a lot," she replied sarcastically.

"I didn't say what Sam and Steve have done is your fault Caitlin," Hawke replied. "But, you did drink a bit too much tonight and chose the wrong people to hang out with. That isn't like you at all. Want to tell me what's going on?"

"No," she replied bluntly. "Right now all I want to do is sleep and hope that when I wake up I'm in my own bed."

"Shhh…..Hawke said as he heard the door of the wine cellar open. He lay still and Caitlin didn't move. The two men came halfway down the stairs, took inventory of Hawke and Caitlin and then left, leaving the cellar door wide open.

Hawke didn't move for several minutes until he heard what he thought was the front door open and shut.

"Cait?" he whispered. "I think they left. I'm going up to check and see if Dom and Sal are alright."

Caitlin didn't move. Hawke gently moved her from the seated position she was in and laid her down on the floor of the cellar before getting up and ascending the stairs.

Once up, he quietly surveyed the main areas of the house before heading to the kitchen. "Dom?" he called out.

"String!" Dom yelled back.

To Hawke's relief, Dom was still sitting, tied to the chair and unharmed.

"Where's Sal?" he asked as he removed the ropes from Dom's hands.

"They beat him up pretty bad," Dom told him. "They said something about dragging him outside before leaving."

"Call the police and an ambulance," Hawke instructed Dom. "I'll go out and check."

Hawke immediately found Sal outside on the ground. He was alive but had been beaten up pretty badly. Within minutes, an ambulance and paramedics came to assist. Even though he insisted he was fine, they decided it would be best to take Hawke and Caitlin in for observation.

Once at the hospital, Dom followed Hawke into the small treatment room. "How are you?" he asked. "It sure scared the hell out of me when I saw him pull out that gun and shoot you."

"I'm fine Dom," he insisted. "I hope Sal's okay."

"Me too," replied Dom. "I think physically, he'll recover. But, emotionally, I'm sure it's taken a toll on him."

"Mr. Santini?" a nurse asked as she came into the room. "Could you please assist us with your friend Caitlin?"

"Is she okay?" asked a worried Dom.

"She'll be fine," the nurse replied. "We just need some paperwork completed on her and she's a bit incoherent. The doctor has her on an IV for fluids. She's dehydrated."

"Oh, sure thing," Dom replied, relieved. "String, I'll be back to check on you in a bit. I'll let you know what I find out about Sal."

Dom followed the nurse to another small room. Caitlin was lying on a gurney with an IV attached to one of her arms. The nurse handed him a clipboard with paperwork to fill out.

"Okay, let's see now," he said to himself. "Birthday is February…."

Dom stopped and looked around the room for a calendar before poking his head into the hallway to stop one of the nurses. "Uh, what 's today's date?" he asked.

The nurse smiled at him. "We are in the very early hours of February 25th, she said with a smile."

Dom's heart sank. "Well, what do you know," he said softly. "Now it all makes sense."

Dom finished filling out Caitlin's paperwork after he added her birthday. "Thirty years old today huh?" he said to her softly before planting a kiss on her forehead. "Happy Birthday sweet heart."

After he was done assisting with Caitlin, Dom checked on Sal. He found that he had a broken nose and several broken ribs but he would recover. Before Dom could make it back to Hawke, the doctor released him and they met up in the hallway.

"How's Sal and Caitlin?" Hawke asked.

Dom filled Hawke in on Sal's condition and explained that the doctor would release Caitlin shortly. They just wanted to make sure she received enough fluids.

"I just got in touch with Michael," Hawke told him. "He had his people pick up Hal's wife along with Sam and Steve. They've all got a list of charges pending against them. They're lucky murder isn't one of them."

Hawke couldn't help but notice the look of concern on Dom's face.

"Are you okay?" he asked him.

"Oh sure, sure," Dom replied. "I'm just worried about our girl."

Hawke sighed. "I am too," he admitted. "I was thinking about just taking her up to the cabin with me. She's going to be pretty sick when she wakes up. I'd hate for her to be alone. Something's bothering her and she wouldn't tell me what it is."

"Oh, I know what it is," Dom told him. "Well, I'm pretty sure based what I just figured out."

Hawke gave him a puzzled look. "What did you find out?" he asked.

"That today is her thirtieth birthday and we forgot," Dom said matter of fact like.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Caitlin awoke as she felt the warmth of the sunlight on her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes. The pain in her head was the worst she'd ever felt.

"Where am I?" she thought as she slowly sat up in the bed. Caitlin surveyed the room and then took inventory of herself. She was laying in Hawke's bed with nothing on but her underwear.

"What the hell?" she whispered. "What happened? Did something happen between me and Hawke? Didn't we go to Sal's?"

Caitlin stood up slowly. Her stomach felt empty, yet queasy. She grabbed Hawke's robe that hung on the bathroom door beside the bed and put it on before heading downstairs.

"Well, it's about time you got up," Hawke told her as she slowly descended the stairs. "How are you feeling?"

"Like death warmed over," she said softly. "I will never drink that much again."

Hawke smiled at her. "Good to know," he replied. "You did get a little carried away."

"Did I?" she asked confused as she sat down at the bar. "Hawke, I don't really remember much about last night. I sort of remember those two guys and being at Sal's but it's all a bit fuzzy after that."

Hawke put a couple of pieces of toast and a glass of apple juice in front of her. "Here, this should help some," he told her. "As for last night, Sal's wife's cousins roughed him up quite a bit. Dom wasn't hurt and my scratch is just fine."

"Oh yeah, you were shot," she replied while holding her head. "Can I get some aspirin too?"

Hawke opened one of the cabinet doors and pulled out a bottle before handing it to Caitlin.

"Just nicked," he reminded her.

"Thanks," she said softly as she took out a couple and quickly took them before attempting to eat a bite of toast.

"Hopefully you'll feel better by tonight," he told her. "Dom is bringing all the ingredients to make your favorite meal."

Caitlin swallowed another bite of toast. "Oh yeah," she replied. "He nearly growls at me every time I asked him to make that. What's the occasion?"

Hawke smiled as he moved towards her and kissed her on the forehead. "Our favorite girl is thirty years old today," he replied softly. "I'm so sorry we forgot. Why didn't you mention it to us?"

Caitlin sighed. "I don't know Hawke," she replied. "I guess I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about turning thirty. My life definitely isn't how I pictured it would be at this age."

"How did you picture it?" he asked as he sat down beside her at the bar.

"I don't know," she replied. "Married with kids….maybe."

"Are you sure that's how you pictured it or is that your mom taking?" he asked.

Caitlin couldn't help but smile at him. "You're right," she replied. "Of course I want kids someday but I really don't think I'm ready just yet."

"So what's the problem?" he asked her with a wink. "Turning thirty isn't so hard. It just means you're not a kid anymore."

Caitlin sipped on the apple juice and sighed. She thought about how she overheard Hawke telling Dom that he thought she was just a kid.

"Hawke, what happened to my clothes?" she asked nervously. "I woke up without even a bra on."

Hawke shook his head. "Let's just say you had one hell of a night," he told her. "We'll leave it at that. Your clothes are in a bag on the front porch."

"Hawke, I woke up half naked in your bed," she replied nearly biting her bottom lip. "Did…..we….I mean…did anything…."

"Nothing happened," he interrupted her. "You threw up all over your clothes when we got here. I wasn't sure if they needed dry cleaning so I felt it was best to just put them outside. They don't smell too good. You were soaked through to your bra so I ended up hand washing that for you. It's hanging out to dry. Dom's going to stop by your apartment and get you some more clothes. He'll be here in a little while."

Caitlin put her head down on the bar. She wasn't sure which was the most embarrassing, Hawke removing her bra or washing it out for her.

"Oh my gosh I'm so embarrassed. I think this has got to be the worst birthday I've ever had," she replied. "This is worse than when I turned seven. I broke my leg during my birthday party after falling off a trampoline."

Hawke smiled at her and joked. "Believe me," he said. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Hawke!" she replied, slapping him lightly on the arm. "Don't make me laugh. My head still hurts too much."

Hawke stood up and pulled her into his arms, giving her a tight hug. "At least I made you smile," he replied softly. "Why don't you go up and get a shower. It might make you feel better. Dom should be here soon with your clothes."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After her shower, Caitlin put on an old button up shirt of Hawke's to wear until Dom got there with her own clothes. She sat on the couch and chatted with Hawke who had finally decided to clean up the kitchen before Dom came in and started cooking.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked after washing the last of the dishes.

"I feel a lot better," she replied while grabbing a blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapping it around her legs. "I'll feel even better when Dom gets here with my clothes."

"I think I hear him now," Hawke told her as he headed to the front door and opened it.

Dom came up the walkway with several items including a garment bag.

"What's that?" Caitlin asked as he handed her the bag along with a small suitcase.

"It's part of your birthday present," he said with a grin. "I changed my mind about cooking tonight and I was able to pull some strings with the director of the last movie we worked on. I got us a reservation at Teri's."

Caitlin's face lit up. "You're kidding," she replied with a grin. "I've wanted to go to that place forever."

"I know," he replied. "That's why I went and got you that."

Caitlin gave Dom a puzzled look as she unzipped the garment bag. "Dom, this was that dress I liked from that magazine I was reading the other day."

"Yeah, I saw you had circled it," he replied. "I'll admit I had to get Marella to get it for me though. I'm not much for shopping for women."

Caitlin laughed and gave Dom a hug. "It means just as much," she admitted. "Thank you!"

"Okay now," he told her. "Go and start getting ready. We have a pre-dinner cocktail party at the movie studio."

Caitlin grabbed her stuff and bounded up the stairs to the loft.

Hawke smiled at Dom. "That's the happiest I've seen her all day," he said. "I'm not sure how I'll be able to beat your gift."

Dom smiled. "You'll figure it out," he replied. "I don't think it'll be too hard."

Hawke shook his head and sighed. "I'd better go and dig out my black suit."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

An hour and a half later, Dom and Hawke were waiting for Caitlin to finish getting ready so they could leave.

"Come on Caitlin," Hawke yelled up to her. "We need to get going if we're going to make it on time."

"I'll be down in just a minute," she yelled back.

A few minutes later the men were speechless when they saw Caitlin come down the stairs. The dress was black with thin straps and small diamond accents on the bodice. It came to just above her knees and it accentuated her shape perfectly.

"String?"

"Yeah?"

"You still think she's a kid?"

Hawke shot Dom a dirty look and then laughed. "You look beautiful Caitlin," he told her.

Caitlin blushed. "Thanks, I feel beautiful," she admitted.

"Well, let's get going," Dom said as he gestured them towards the door.

Hawke couldn't keep his eyes off of Caitlin the rest of the night. He found himself having just as much fun as she was.

"This was a great idea," he told Dom.

Dom smiled. "I guess I did good then," he replied.

"You did great," Hawke admitted. "I think this is going to be a birthday she'll never forget…..and I'm not talking about what happened last night."

To Hawke's surprise, Teri's had a dance hall in one wing of the restaurant. After they ate, he asked Caitlin to dance.

Caitlin smiled at him as they slow danced to the live orchestra music. "You know," she said. "I may not have a husband or kids just yet, but I really am fortunate to have you and Dom in my life. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

"Well, hopefully you'll never have to find out," he told her.

Hawke pulled her closer to him. As they swayed the music, he leaned in and kissed her. To her surprise, it was soft and sensual, unlike any kiss she'd ever had before.

"Happy birthday Caitlin," he whispered afterward.

Caitlin grinned. "I think I might like being thirty after all," she replied. "I mean, if it continues like this."

Hawke smiled. "Oh, this is just the beginning," he said with a wink. "I promise."

"Oh, I plan to hold you to that," she replied as she pulled him back into another kiss. In the end, it turned out to be the best birthday she ever had.

The End

(This was a response story to Elanquest's "kid" challenge.)


End file.
